RAFAEL BENITEZ has given Mohamed Diame his full backing by claiming he can be a hit at Newcastle United once the goals start to flow at St James’ Park.

Benitez’s faith in the Sengalese midfielder has been questioned in recent weeks by fans wanting to see Aleksandar Mitrovic given more of an opportunity in attack.

The Newcastle boss has been reluctant to start with Mitrovic because he has tended to operate with a lone striker system.

And that has opened the door more regularly for Diame to operate in the No 10 role behind Dwight Gayle, even though there is an outside opinion that the African could be better in a more withdrawn midfield role.

The £4.5m buy from Hull City has not found the net in that attacking midfield position but is expected to make his ninth appearance, all starts, when Brentford travel to Tyneside this afternoon.

Benitez said: "Mo Diame is working very hard and is unlucky in front of goal. He has to keep going and give more and he was saying this week too that he knows he needs to give us something more in attack.

"But he's working very hard, he's trying to do the right things. What would worry me is if he didn't have chances.

"He had chances against Aston Villa to score and unfortunately he couldn't. If he has chances, he will eventually score goals and that is not a problem.”

When Benitez was asked whether he thinks that playing as a No 10 is Diame’s best position, the Newcastle boss said: “No. If you play a 4-3-3 formation as we have at times so far this season, I think he's fine and he is much better in this position.

"But when you have problems in the middle and you have to change and adapt the team, maybe his best position could be behind the striker with freedom to move around. He's not a proper No 10. We know that.

"But he's someone who is doing a great job and he has the legs to go into the wide areas or around behind defenders and to create spaces for others. Sometimes when you analyse, you see different things.”

Only one of Mitrovic’s five appearances this season was a start and that was the 6-0 win at Queens Park Rangers. He scored twice in last Sunday’s 3-2 victory for Serbia over Austria, though, which has increased calls for him to start for Newcastle alongside top scorer Gayle.

"I know everybody says: 'Why don't you play with two strikers?' But it depends on the rest of the team at the same time,” said Benitez. “So how you play, how you control the games, can you control the midfield without this second striker?

"You might be more dangerous with two strikers, but then you have less power and less control in the middle. It's not a question of only scoring goals. We scored six goals at Queens Park Rangers with one striker and a second striker. It's a question of what the team is doing.”

Benitez is adamant he likes Mitrovic’s style of play, while also conceding he needs to work on his temperament if he is going to become a regular under him at Newcastle.

He said: "He has kept working hard in the training sessions - and sometimes he is even working too hard. Then you try to guide him in the right direction and he continues to work hard and I was really pleased when he scored the goals [for Serbia].

"I have to play a team, but the others they have to put me under pressure in a positive way. That means training harder and being competitive. Mitrovic is this kind of player.

"Then you have to try to explain to them that maybe they will not play this week but they have to be ready because they will not play for now, but they need to understand that they must be ready.

"Someone who has this passion is really good. The problem with Mitrovic, the only thing that is wrong with that is he has to control this. We have spoken about it before that he needs to control his temper and these things.

"My job is to give him advice and continue monitoring him and being sure he has this control. I had this situation last year and I have this same situation this year.”

Newcastle have sold around 51,000 tickets again this afternoon for a game in the Championship. He knows how important the fans are in the push for promotion, but wants them to stay with the team throughout the 90 minutes of every game.

He said: "That is how magnificent our fans are. Every single time you go away you can hear them. That is massive for our players.

"I think they can give our players an extra motivation. They can make the difference, and sometimes, when a player needs support, they have to be there. They have to support any player.

"What you have to ask for is the players to give everything. Dwight Gayle was missing chances, but after he scored three goals. During the games, if you support the players, it will be a win-win situation."